Flips & Stuck Landings
by cassthemermaid
Summary: Born into a family of Olympians, Katherine, Stefan and Damon Salvatore and Jeremy and Elena Gilbert have been a close knit and champion winning bunch since day one. Their collective ultimate goal is to represent the USA in gymnastics just like their parents. But tragedy strucks at a crucial time. Will they be able to help their fallen friend?
1. Chapter 1: The Newest Little Angel

Hello! Hello! This is my first ever story on FF! I also have a wattpad account (CassandraGoh1), do check it out! I hope to be able to stick to my plan and finish this story. I'm currently in the middle of a crazy academic year before I start my internship at a local company. So here's the plan: I'll post the first chapter and see if people are loving this idea. I'll also try my best to update at least once a month. So here it goes!

Basically, it's a gymnastics story. I decided to do one as I haven't seen much Delena fanfics dive into this world. Maybe it's because the sport is one that is not that easy to understand. I'm not a pro myself, so I'm sorry if I make a mistake regarding the code of points, the adding up in the difficulty score, what the rise in the ranks is like from the various levels to ELITE or any of the gymnastics related errors. If any of you readers are TOPs, HOPEs, ELITEs or Level 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10 gymnasts, please do help me out. Thank you!

Here's chapter 1! All rights go to L. J. Smith and the entire cast and crew of The Vampire Diaries

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 _30 March 2000_

"Congratulations Mr and Mrs Gilbert! It's a girl!"

After an exhausting 22 hours of labor, Miranda Faith Gilbert had given birth to a beautiful baby girl. Exhausted from the gruelling labour, Miranda laid back on the bed with tears of joy in her eyes and a wide smile on her face. From across the room, loud squeals and cries could be heard from their new little girl as the nurses weighed, measured and wiped her clean. As her cries turned into small whimpering sounds, the newest little Gilbert was wrapped up and placed into her mother's arms. Miranda held her little girl close to her chest. With a tuft of dark brown hair and a cute little button nose, she was the perfect mix of Miranda and Grayson. The couple cooed softly to their new little girl. Reaching over, Grayson smiles when she wraps her tiny fist around his finger. His heart swelled with pride and tears of joy started to gather in his eyes. Miranda, upon seeing the scene before her, turned and peered into the teary eyes of her husband. As their eyes locked, there was no doubt in their minds that the name that they had chosen fit their baby girl perfectly. Turning to face the patiently awaiting nurses, Grayson proudly pronounced their daughter's name. After lots of smiles and congratulations from the nurses, the baby was taken to the nursery to be further examined by the doctor.

After Miranda had settled down in her room, Grayson turned to her asking, "I think it's time for Jeremy and the Salvatores to meet the newest edition of our large family don't you think?" With a tired but happy look on her face, Miranda agreed. With a nod, Grayson went to fetch them. Not long after, the pitter patter of little feet tapping the floor could be heard. When the door opened, little Jeremy ran excitedly into the room with Katherine, Stefan and Damon Salvatore at his heels. Their parents, Giuseppe and Marie Salvatore, appeared not long after as Grayson Gilbert ushered them all into the room.

"Mama! Mama! Is that my new baby sister?! Is she finally here?" squealed Jeremy. With four little pairs of eyes staring excitedly at Miranda, she nods.

A thunderous round of applause erupted in the room. Reaching up, Miranda shushes the children so as not to wake the baby. Giuseppe and Grayson shared a hug, while Miranda and Marie shared one too. It didn't take long for the children to get a little restless. As they were standing by the bed frame. Soon they started trying to climb onto Miranda's bed to catch a glimpse of the newest little Gilbert girl. With care, the children were one by one lifted up. Surrounding Miranda, they each took their turns take turns to see the newborn. Sitting beside his mother, Jeremy was given the honor of holding his baby sister in his arms. Both children and adults cooed at the little sleeping girl. She was absolutely adorable.

After the excitement died down, Miranda shared a smile with her husband before turning to look at the rest of their family. Still smiling, she announces, "We'd like to tell you her name now and I think you are all going to love it." Looking down at the baby in her arms, she adds, her voice beaming with pride, "Welcome to the world, Elena Marie Gilbert."

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Much love to Carol for helping me to edit this chapter!


	2. Chapter 2: Chocolate

**In honour of this joyous occasion (Nina coming back to TVD, I shall present you guys with an update.) I LITERALLY CAN'T SLEEP AS I'M BURSTING WITH JOY AND MY HEART IS MENDED AND SO FULL. I HAVE A CLASS AT 10AM AND IT'S LIKE 3AM RIGHT NOW. I'M GOING TO BE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE TOMORROW. THANK YOU FOR YOUR DEDICATION NINA. WE LOVE YOU! 3. Now on to chapter 2...**

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 **Marie's POV**

 _2003_

I keep a watchful eye on my five children as they jump happily on the trampoline at SG Gymnastics. You must be thinking, five children? I thought you only had three. Yes, Jeremy and Elena may not be my biological children but because of the deep friendship my husband and I share with their parents, I consider them mine too.

Looking down at my watch, I decide that the children have had enough for the day. "Alright kids, it's time to get off now." Holding my arms out for Elena, she gives me an adorable pout, indicating to me that she hasn't had enough fun on the trampoline but she does as she's told, letting me lift her down. I expected the rest of them to let me help but much to my dismay, they decide to fearlessly jump off.

Shaking my head, I watch as they run off to the pantry to get drinks and snacks. I didn't tell my children, but I made my famous Mama Salvatore chocolate cake. With Elena in my arms, I follow after them while whispering to her, "Elena, want to try Mama Salvatore's famous chocolate cake?" She looks at me with wide eyes and a toothy grin spreads across her face.

When I reach them, I find four chocolate covered children. Oops looks like I didn't hide the cake well enough. Since there were only a few pieces of cake left, I check the fridge. Finding that there's none left, she looks at Elena, "Sorry darling, looks like all the cake is gone. I'll make another one some other time and you can have it all to yourself ok?" I tell Elena. Unexpectedly, her chocolate brown eyes fill with tears and her bottom lip starts to wobble. I quickly grab Elena's favorite snack from the tray in an attempt to pacify her, but the tears pour down her face and soft cries escape her lips. Meanwhile, the rest of my children have already ran off to god knows where and have left me with a huge mess to clear and a terribly upset Elena. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Damon walk back into the pantry.

"What's wrong with Lena mommy? Why is she crying?"

"Elena's just upset that she didn't get to eat any cake. Right?" I stroke her cheek as she looked at me with tears glistening in her eyes and her finger in her mouth and nodded slowly.

The next day...

 **Damon's POV (he's 5 years old)**

Elena looked so sad yesterday when she didn't get her cake. I don't like it when she gets so upset, so I decided to bake one for her myself. I've seen mom do it so many times and I'm a big boy so I think I know how to bake a cake.

 _Knock. Knock._ "Damon! Damon! Come play hide and seek with us!"

Stefan and Katherine scream from outside the house. Shaking my head to tell them no, I turn back to pouring the flour into the big mixing bowl. "Who are you making a cake for?"

"Elena." I answer back simply, annoyed that they were disturbing me.

"Damy has a crush on Elena! Damy has a crush on Elena!", Stefan runs away screaming. Annoyed that I was disturbed, I turned back to what I was doing before I was interrupted. Just as I was reaching for the chocolate powder, I hear someone say, "Damon honey, what are you doing?"

Shocked, I turned around and fell off the chair, at the same time accidentally knocking the bowl of flour to the ground.

 **Marie's POV**

"Damon! Are you ok?", I ask, immediately rushing to my son. After checking to make sure he's not injured, I help him stand up. "Come follow mommy to the bathroom. We need to dust all this flour off you. What were you even trying to do?"

As I start to walk down the hall, I notice that he isn't following along. Retracing my steps, I find Damon, a trail of tears flowing down his face as he gingerly limps towards me. Sighing, I kneel before him.

"Darling, does your ankle feel ouchie?" Damon nods. So I pick him up and carry him to the bathroom. After dusting all the flour off, I tell Damon to stay put while I get a towel and an ice pack to ice his ankle. Tying the towel in place, I lift him back into my arms.

"So now what do you want to do? Do you want to watch cartoons or do you want to help mommy bake the chocolate cake for Elena?"

"Chocolate cake. Sorry mama. I should have asked for help but I'm a big boy! I wanted to bake one for Elena since she looked so sad yesterday."

Awwww. "I'm sure Elena will be very thankful and happy that you thought about doing that for her. Ok come on, you can help me mix the ingredients for the cake, and after it's baked, we'll take it over to the Gilberts. You can tell Elena that you made this cake specially for her."

 _At the Gilbert house_

"Hi Miranda! Hopefully now isn't a bad time. I brought a chocolate cake over since Elena was upset she didn't get a slice yesterday."

"Mama! I thought of that! Not you!"

Chuckling, I rub my son's hair affectionately while Miranda leads us into the house.

"Lena! Damon and Aunt Marie brought something for you!" Soon I hear the pounding of Elena's tiny footsteps thundering down the steps as she runs towards us with a big smile on her face.

"Cake?" she questions. I nod towards her and proceed to whisper in her ear. "Damon wanted to make you happy, so he made this cake for you. While he was concentrating, I scared him by accident and now he has an ouchie ankle."

"Ouchie?" she asks, staring at the cake.

"Why don't both of you share it?"

Immediately, Elena shoots off and pulls Damon into a big hug, making him stumble backwards. "Careful Lena. Remember I have an ouchie?"

"Thank you for remembering that I wuove (love) chocolate cake. Come on! Let's go watch TV and eat it together!" Giggling, Elena pulls Damon lightly towards the living room, leaving Miranda and I smiling at how cute the two of them are.

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Thank you so much to Carol for helping me to edit my work. She makes my writing look good! :)

You know the drill guys. Please do review :)

Follow and favourite if you wish to :) This story is also on Wattpad ( cassthemermaid)


	3. Chapter 3: Cereals & Necklaces

**So I'm back! Sorry for taking such a long time to update. In between studying for exams, exams, traveling and starting my internship, I just didn't have time to sit down and write. I'll probably struggle with that since I work nearly seven days a week with inconsistent hours. But I thank you all for reading, favourite-ing, reviewing and following this story. Since today is my birthday, I decided to give all of you a little treat despite not having started on chapter 4 yet. So here it is... Happy reading!**

* * *

 **Elena's POV**

After letting out a big yawn and rubbing my eyes, Damon reaches out to hold my hand as he walks me to my classroom. For some reason, the walls at school are decorated with many pink and red hearts and flowers. What kind of occasion is this?

It's the last lesson of the day and Mrs Mable, my teacher, gathers us in front of the classroom and tells us to sit down. "Okay girls and boys. Settle down now. I'm going to tell you a story. You might have noticed that there were many hearts and flowers around school today and I'm going to tell you why. Today, I am going to read to you, the story of Valentine."

"Do you know why we celebrate Valentine's Day? The main reason is so that we can tell people how much we love and care about them, give and receive cards, and enjoy chocolate and candy. Boys sometimes kiss the girls they love too. However, According to a legend, St. Valentine's Day is meant for people to remember a brave man, a martyr whose name was Valentine.

There once was a Roman Emperor called Claudius II. He fought in many wars. He wanted to have a strong army, but many men did not want to be soldiers. The Emperor thought that they wanted to stay at home to be with their wives and children, instead of leaving to fight.

The Emperor thought of a very terrible solution to his problem. He decided that no one was allowed to get married! Therefore, no one in Rome could get married. The Emperor thought that if he stopped people from getting married, men would ignore the women and they would then become soldiers.

Valentine was a priest. He believed that people needed to get married. He thought that if couples did not get married, they would be tempted to sin by living together without getting married. So, he continued to secretly marry couples even though it was illegal. Valentine performed the weddings in secret places so the Roman soldiers would not find out.

But they did find out! Valentine was arrested and brought before the Emperor. He thought that Valentine was a well spoken and wise young man. He encouraged Valentine to stop being a Christian and become a loyal Roman instead. Valentine refused as he did not want to deny his beliefs. He was sent to prison until it was time for him to be killed. While Valentine was in prison, he sent out letters to his friends. He asked them to pray for him by writing Remember your Valentine.

Valentine was killed either on the 14th or 24th of February in the year 269 or 270. Although we don't know if this legend is actually a true story, it is nice to think of someone who believed in marriage and was willing to risk death to do what he believed was right. Thus, we celebrate Valentine's Day on February 14 in honour of the brave and courageous St. Valentine.

Well, today is Valentine's day and I want all of you to write cards to someone who loves and cares for you deeply. It could be a parent, sibling, aunt, uncle, grandparent or even a really close friend. Here are some colour pencils and paper. You can work on your drawings until the end of the school day!"

After giving her initial instructions, Mrs Mable goes on to tell us that when we are older, Valentine's day might mean differently to us. Boyfriends give their girlfriends flowers and kisses and sometimes even chocolates. Ewww boys have cooties and I don't want to get sick! I think to myself. Sitting at a table with my two best friends, Caroline and Bonnie, we start to work on our art pieces. Looking around, I see everyone drawing pictures of their families. Undecided, I turn to my two best friends and ask them, "Care. Bon. Who are you writing your cards to?"

"I'm writing to to my Grams. She's always been there for me since mama and daddy died. She's not only my Grams but also my best friend." Bonnie says wistfully.

"Hey! What about us? I thought we were your best friends? Anyway to answer your question Elena, I'm writing mine to my mummy. She's always been there since daddy left us. Who are you writing to?"

As Bonnie and Caroline look at me and wait for my answer, I'm still not sure. Damon's my best friend, but would it be weird if I wrote to him and not my family?

"Elena? Who are you writing your card to?"

"I don't know... maybe to my best friend, Damon, or my family?"

"Ewwww not Damon! Boys have cooties and I don't want him to infect you with his germmies!"

Shrugging my shoulders, I give Bonnie and Caroline a small smile as I look down and start working on my card. When the bell rings, I happily hold my card up and admire my work. On the cover is my family; Mummy, Daddy, Jeremy, Damon, Stefan, Katherine and Mama and Papa Salvatore.

* * *

Swinging my legs against the porch swing, I wait for Damon to finish school. Feeling hungry, I take out the Ziploc baggy of my favourite Os cereal that mummy packed for me. Inside, there is a string of dental floss for me to string the Os. It was a fun game that mummy created when we flew cross-country to visit grandma and grandpa. I was three at that time. It was a long and boring flight and I got fussy because I was bored. Jer was glued to his show on the iPad and didn't want to share with me. So taking out my favourite cereal and some dental floss, she started showing me how to string the Os. Ever since then, it became one of my favourite games that I played when I was bored. Looking down into the bag, I notice that there are a few pink coloured ones inside. Suddenly feeling creative, I start stringing them through the dental floss, being careful that they don't fall out on the other end. When I finish, I secure it with a ribbon knot and now I have a pretty and cute Os necklace. As I look up, I spot Damon walking out of the main doors. "Lena!", He calls, as he jogs towards me. Carefully putting my cereal necklace back into the Ziploc and securing it, I jump up and hug Damon. "Happy Valentine's Day." I giggle into his ear. He hugs me tightly then sets me down on my feet again. Just as he's about to take my hand to lead me to the school gate where either mummy or mama Salvatore is waiting for us, I reach into my bag, pull out the cereal necklace, and hand it to him. "For you." I tell Damon shyly. Smiling, he puts it on, not caring that it looks funny on him and that probably half of his friends can see it. "Thank you Lena. I love it. Happy Valentine's Day to you too."

Holding hands, Damon leads me to the car. Today, mama Salvatore is picking us up. Taking out the things from my bag, I show mama salvatore and Damon that card that I drew in school today.

"Aww darling, that's so pretty! Are you going to show it to all of us later? I nod excitedly.

* * *

We sit around the massive Salvatore dining table devouring the scrumptious dinner prepared by mama Salvatore. All the children are eating chicken noodle soup while the adults are having chicken stew with rice. Everyone is talking to one another and I catch glimpses of the conversation. Most of them evolve around Katherine's Level 9 competition happening this weekend. The Gilberts and the Salvatores are driving up north to support her. Suddenly, I hear mama Salvatore say, "Lena darling, don't you have something to show us?" When I nod, she asks, "Why don't you go get it so everyone can see what you drawn?"

Jumping down from my chair, I run into the living room and grab my art work. Returning to the table, I proudly show everyone what I drew. "Awww that's so sweet darling!" I hear mummy say. "Come give mummy a hug."

Running into her arms, she gives me a huge hug, lifts me onto her lap and whispers 'I love you' in my ear. I looked around the table and see everyone else fawning over my work.

Exhausted by the events of the day, I curl up in mummy's lap and soon, I'm floating in the land of dreams.

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Thank you to Carol for once again editing this chapter!


	4. HI EVERYONE

HI EVERYONE!

Yes I know many of you hoped and prayed that this was an update, but I'm so sorry to disappoint. It's been a busy two months of internship that I barely have any brain juice left to write a chapter. I have a general idea of how I want the next chapter to be but I can't seem to piece them together. I'm actually currently looking for a full-time beta. Any takers? HAHA. But back to what I was here for….

So recently, I chanced upon Lego Ideas. Actually not recently. But anyway, as some of you might know, Big Bang Theory has an official Lego set that was created by a fan. So I'm trying to do the same for TVD. Below or in my profile, I will include a Google Form link that allows you to choose and submit ideas for me to create. I really hope that when the time comes, I will be able to get 10k supports and make the fandom's dreams a reality!

Thank you so much for all the reviews, favourites and follows. Thank you for giving me and this book a chance. Hopefully the brain juice will flow soon!

Xoxo cassthemermaid

Google Form URL: /forms/wCt6Kq4vLRgkpJ0w1

I seem to have a bit of a problem getting the URL on my profile... so PM me if you're too lazy to type it out!


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